FENTON, MI – I love Easter Sunday! It’s my favorite service of the year. The worship, the Scripture, and the message all celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and the hope we have in Him. Easter is God’s declaration that sin, Satan and death do not have the final word over our lives. Our hope is in the risen Christ who declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (John 11:25 CSB). Easter changes everything!
As a pastor, it brought a smile to my face to look over the congregation on Easter Sunday, and see families and friends sitting together. It was common for people in our church to joyfully introduce me to people who were their special guests for the service. Often, I knew from previous conversations that some of these guests still needed to accept Christ as Savior and Lord. I considered it an honor and a sacred trust to faithfully share the Good News of the Gospel.
Many of us will be inviting loved ones to our church’s Easter services. Our hope is that they will hear and respond to the Gospel. We want them to know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord if they do not already. There’s a new resource that I am using this Easter season to pray for someone I know who needs the hope of the Gospel. It’s called, “Who’s Your One?”
Here is Day 1 of “Who’s Your One? Prayer Guide.”
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” JOHN 14:6, CSB
“God, I know there is only one way to salvation. Jesus is clear; He is the only hope for a lost and dying world, and that includes____________________ . His/Her salvation depends on acknowledging Jesus is who He says He is, and He alone is the source of salvation. Use the people and circumstances in _______________________’s life today to point him/her to the reality of Jesus. Give me courage and boldness to call ________________________ to faith in Jesus when the opportunity arises, and help me make it clear there is no other way to be saved.”
“Who’s Your One?” is an initiative of Southern Baptist President, J.D. Greear. It’s totally free, and is available in print or you can download it at whosyourone.com. You can use it on your own or as an emphasis with your small group or church family. There are Prayer Guides, Book Markers, Posters, Social Media and other helps. There’s a place where you can share the first name of the “One” you’re praying for on the whosyourone.com website. Another great feature for those of us who use the You Version Bible app is that you can use the Prayer Guide along with your daily Bible reading plan.
Who’s Your One? is not just for Easter, but I’m using it this Easter season to pray for someone I care about and for myself as I look for opportunities to share Jesus.
Easter is a great time to invite family and friends to church. It’s one of the times during the year that people are more open to actually respond “yes” to an invitation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Durbin is the State Evangelism Director for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before joining the state convention staff, Mike served as Church Planting Catalyst and Director of Missions in Metro Detroit since 2007. He also has served as a pastor and bi-vocational pastor in Michigan, as well as International Missionary to Brazil.